SUNDAY SERMON: The woman at the well
By Rev. Stephen Baldwin
NT: John 4.5-42
Kerry and I have always liked going to the movies. Our college was just down the street from several movie theatres in Charlotte, and they would give out free tickets to us poor college kids all the time. So we went no matter what the movie was, just for the date and for the popcorn.
We don’t go to the movies very often these days, because–if I can sound like a curmudgeon for a minute–there’s never anything good playing. Every time I check what’s playing, it’s scary movies and superhero movies. That’s all they ever seem to have. No dramas or independent films or tearjerkers or musicals. I would probably even go see a Hallmark movie on the big screen, because at least it would be something different!
We all have story types we like, and those are two story types I am tired of. What do I mean by story types? Stories unfold in predictable, cultural patterns. For example, in Disney stories, the frog always turns into a prince. The beauty always falls in love with the beast. The wicked witch always fails. In superhero stories, the hero always saves the people from the evil villain. In scary movies, something is going to pop out and make you scream. In love stories, the couple always overcomes their trials and tribulations…before finally living happily ever after. In a wrestling match, my favorite type of story, the good buys battle the bad guys. Story types are as old as the hills. They help the listener or viewer know what to expect in a story.
In Jesus’ day, they also had story types. When people listened to a story being told (and indeed they did usually listen as very few people could read or write), they understood what kind of story it was. If it was a comedy, they were supposed to laugh. If it was a drama, they knew they might cry. The story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well is a specific type of story. But what kind? It’s not a comedy, not a fairy tale, not a wrestling match. It’s a Hallmark movie.
Now, before I go any further I want to stop and make sure you are hearing me. I don’t want people going to Shoney’s saying, “Our minister tried to tell us that Jesus fell in love with the woman at the well!” That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that this story has almost all the elements of what we would call a Hallmark movie, or what the ancient world would’ve called an engagement story.
In ancient engagement stories, including three in the Old Testament, a predictable pattern occurs: 1) boy journeys to a foreign land, 2) boy meets girl at a well, 3) someone draws water from said well, 4) girl runs home to tell the town, and 5) boyfriend is invited over to meet the parents of girlfriend. Our story matches that, except for that one pesky detail—that Jesus and the woman aren’t an item. (Even though they do sound like an old married couple. Get me some water. Excuse me? Get your own water.)
No, that they are not an item is what makes this story interesting. It would be like a Hallmark Christmas movie where the the boy and girl decide to just be friends. That Jesus and the woman act like a couple about to be engaged but don’t take it to that level is the big surprise that makes this story fascinating.
It draws people in, making them ask, “If this isn’t really an engagement story, then what kind of story is it?” I think it’s a faith story, meant to inspire people to commit to Christ like they commit to one another in holy matrimony. While engagement is seen as a lifelong commitment, I’m not sure faith is. Let me tell you a story that I think makes the point.
An elderly man hurried to his 8:00am doctor appointment, he wanted to finish quickly so that he could get to another appointment. The doctor asked what it was, and the old man proudly said that every morning at 9:00am he would go to the nursing home and have breakfast with his wife.
The doctor asked what her condition was, and he replied that for the past 5 years his wife has had Alzheimer’s and hasn’t known who he is. The doctor asked the old man why he continued to visit her if she had no idea who he was…and the old man replied…“Because I still know who she is.”
Just like engagement and marriage are serious commitments made by two people who love each other, so is the life of faith. And these commitments are a partnership. No one can go it alone.
Lent is a time of year when we assume we are supposed to go it alone. Out in the wilderness of life, all by ourselves, where we go to privately work on our own private problems. But I would challenge you to reach out this Lent rather than self-isolating. Because no one can go it alone, especially not in a faithful relationship.
Sister Monica Clare is an Episcopal nun who is the author of our Sunday School series this month. Here’s what she says about working together in Lent.
“‘You need to learn to delegate!’” is a refrain I hear all the time as the Sister Superior of the Community of St. John Baptist. My Sisters constantly remind me that I need to give parts of my workload to them. It is not easy for me to delegate because I always think I’m the only one who can do things ‘correctly.’ My Sisters’ persistence reminds me that not only do I need to reduce my workload, but I also need to remember that I am not alone.”
She then tells several stories of Jesus delegating his work, calling the disciples, and taking them out to get busy. She writes, “You may wonder: why would Jesus, the incarnation of God Almighty, need to delegate? As an omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient being, God can do anything. Why would God need help?”
Her answer is that while God doesn’t need help, God does want to teach us to work in relationship. A holy matrimony, of sorts, where we resist the temptation to flee into the lonely wilderness and instead gather together as a community of faith.
Jesus and the woman at the well represent this new kind of engagement. They pledge themselves to one another, not in love and holy matrimony, but in faith. She believes in him—as her Savior. He believes in her—as his minister and messenger. They aren’t engaged in the typical sense, but they do pledge themselves to one another. And isn’t that what the walk of faith is all about for each one of us—pledging yourself to Christ and his cause in this world, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, forever and ever, Amen? Amen!
